[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 129 (Friday, August 9, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E810-E811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE OF JOHN MARTIN ADEMA, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOUG LaMALFA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 9, 2024

  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life and service of 
John Martin Adema, Jr., who at the age of 100 years old, passed away 
peacefully surrounded by family and friends.
  John was born on February 16, 1924, in New Orleans, Louisiana to John 
Adema and Christine Kessler. John would go on to attend Jesuit High 
School on a music scholarship for the French Horn as well as lettering 
in Track and Field.
  John graduated in 1942 and began classes at Louisiana State 
University (LSU). John would put his studies on hold to serve his 
country in World War II, enlisting with the United States Marine Corps 
as a Radio Operator in an LTV4 Landing Vehicle assigned to the 4th 
Amphibious Tractor Battalion.
  John served in the South Pacific where he participated in the 
landings of: Guam, the Marshall Islands, British Solomon Islands, the 
Marianas Islands, and the Kwajalein Atoll and earned two Bronze Stars. 
At the time of his death, John was the last survivor of his battalion, 
the last of the Greatest Generation.
  At the conclusion of WWII in 1945, John would return home, resuming 
his studies of Forestry at LSU graduating in 1948. While working to pay 
for his education John would meet June Corcoran, the love of his life. 
They would remain inseparable until her death, 73 years later.
  John's career would move the family all over the world, from 
Colorado, to Texas, to California, to Germany, and to Vietnam. John 
worked for the Bureau of Reclamation, the United States Forestry 
Service, the United

[[Page E811]]

States Army Corps of Engineers, and as a civilian military liaison in 
both Vietnam and Germany.
  John was also dedicated to helping veterans and immediately began his 
volunteerism upon returning from the war. He was a proud member of the 
Marine Corps League as well as the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) 
where he served on multiple board positions and roles.
  Family meant everything to John, if you where his friend, you were 
his family too. His proudest titles came from his family, as a son, a 
husband, a father, a grandfather, and finally as a great-grandfather.
  John is survived by his children June McJunkin, Jamie Millen, Joel 
Adema, Jill Dahlen, and Justin Adema, 11 grandchildren, and 13 great-
grandchildren. John's legacy lives on through his family. John was a 
beacon of the American Spirit and will be missed greatly by all those 
that knew him. Rest in Peace.

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